Support for Local Business During Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Elevate has always and will always work towards our mission of encouraging, connecting and growing small and startup businesses in the Coles County Region. During the current circumstances presented by COVID-19, we recognize our duty as a community organization is to provide as many resources as possible to business owners in our region. For the duration of this situation, we will continue to do our very best to present options that work for you and your business.

As a precautionary measure, our space in the Cross-County Mall is currently not available to the public. The health and safety of our community will always be our number one priority at Elevate. While we are not physically able to connect in person, we recognize that now more than ever our non-profit business model holds value to hundreds of local companies focused on economic prosperity.

We remain available to every business during this time. Reach out to us via email at director@elevate217.org with questions or to organize a free consultation. We are here to help in this time of need.

Additional Resources

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, small business owners in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories are currently eligible to apply for a loan advance of up to $10,000.

The Paycheck ProtectionProgram is a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the payroll.SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities.

The SBA provides a debt relief to small businesses as they overcome the challenges created by this health crisis.

Per USDA

USDA Rural Developmenthas taken a number of immediate actions to help rural residents, businesses, and communities affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. Rural Development will keep our customers, partners, and stakeholders continuously updated as more actions are taken to better serve rural America.

To help small business owners and entrepreneurs better understand the new programs thatwill soon be available to them, we have created a comprehensive guide to many of the small business provisions in the CARES Act that was passed by Congress on March 27. These programs and initiatives are intended to assist business owners with whatever needs they have right now.

We want to help alleviate some of the cost for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to stay in touch with their customers during this challenging time. That’s why we’re giving our SMBs worldwide $340 million in ad credits, which can be used at any point until the end of 2020 across our Google Ads platforms. SMBs who have been active advertisers since the beginning of 2019 will see a credit notification appear in their Google Ads account in the coming months.

Thanks to a$2.5 million investment from Verizon, we are offering grants to help small businesses fill urgent financial gaps until they can resume normal operations or until other more permanent financing becomes available.

As always, keep up to date with Elevate on social media, connect with us on LinkedIn @ Elevate CCIC, INC., Facebook @ElevateCCIC, Twitter and Instagram @elevate217